Graeme Tetley – Shaping the ‘beautiful’ script

April 5th 2007
Auckland
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Graeme Tetley – Shaping the ‘beautiful’ script

The second Writer’s Room for 2007 pulled a capacity audience with over 100 writers coming to hear iconic screenwriter Graeme Tetley (Vigil, Mr. Wrong, Ruby and Rata, Bread and Roses, Out of the Blue) speak about his career in the New Zealand film industry. Tetley shared experiences from his diverse background in screenwriting, including his latest work, Out of the Blue. Hosted by fellow screenwriter Nick Ward (Stickmen, The Ferryman), Tetley revealed aspects of his personal writing process and how he has maintained his passion for screenwriting for over two decades.

A chance to write dialogue for Vincent Ward’s film Vigil gave Tetley his first break into the industry. Six feature film scripts later, he has worked on some of New Zealand’s most defining films and is one of the most respected screenwriters in our industry. It was this strong reputation that attracted the producers of Out of the Blue.

Tetley was drawn to the event on a personal level. He saw the script as a means to describe a community that endured a tragedy and was forced, ‘out of the blue’, to come to terms with the deaths of children, friends and family. ‘I like writing about ordinary people and their heroism.’

The story for Out of the Blue was developed using 158 stickies placed in lines over 3 hessian boards. Each line indicated a story strand and the boards illustrated where they intersected. Tetley believes treatments should be written ‘after opening night’ and said, ‘One of the magic things with Out of the Blue was that I wasn’t asked for a treatment!’ Producers of the film Steve O’Meagher and Tim White used the hessian boards to discuss plot with Tetley, decided to let him to go ahead and write the first draft, ‘… and that,’ said Tetley, ‘is the way you do a treatment!’

Truthful writing was important from the outset with Out of the Blue. ‘Fragment by fragment, we (Tetley and director Robert Sarkies) began building up what it was like on that night and we recreated it as truthfully as possible,’ said Tetley. It was felt a candid portrayal would help the audience understand the truth and reality of the event. ‘It didn’t take us long to decide that we couldn’t rhapsodise this event - we couldn’t turn it into something that it wasn’t. It was about a sense of a place and we had to be true to that; a place that was beautiful and terrible.’

Quality research was crucial to ensure the story was told accurately. ‘Research is everything,’ said Tetley, adding he would never want anyone else to research for him, ‘because then you would miss the tiny little gems that can become scenes and then whole films.’
Out of the Blue received much attention and a measure of animosity during development. ‘I’d never experienced anybody saying ‘I don’t want to go to your film’ before but that happened a lot.’ Tetley justified the project by noting that the Aramoana community is strong, one that banded together before the tragedy to defeat politicians and corporate business wanting to build a smelter there. ‘If they really wanted to stop us making this film they could have’.

The role of the screenwriter has not been well celebrated in our local film industry but Tetley wouldn’t want to play any other part. ‘I love writing. I love the sound, the rhythm, music, the visuals. I love that more and more … I think a script can be beautiful in itself. It can be shaped and it can be elegant. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.’
About Script to Screen
Script to Screen (www.script-to-screen.co.nz) is an independent, industry wide initiative, established to develop the culture of screenwriting in Aotearoa / New Zealand. Script to Screen’s programme of talks, workshops, and other events provides opportunities for both established and emerging screenwriters to meet up, share knowledge, and develop their craft.

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